1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling access to computing resources. More specifically, the present invention relates to a security system that requires the presence of a personal digital key (PDK) before secure computing resources can be accessed.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use and proliferation of personal computers and other similar computing systems have become widespread. In many cases, a user may have several computers with which she interacts. For example, the user may have a personal computer at their office, a laptop for personal use and a family computer. Additionally, the user may have a cell phone, a personal digital assistant, or other individualized computing devices. Increasingly, these computers store confidential and sensitive information such as contacts lists, financial information, business information and identification information. Most currently existing systems have only a minimal amount of security protection such as requiring a user to enter a password before their personal computer becomes operational.
These computer systems are often used to access third-party systems. These third-party systems often require a user identification name and a password before the user will be granted access. Each of the individual third-party systems often has different requirements both in terms of user name and in terms of password format. Moreover, as the world becomes increasingly digital, the owners of these third-party systems want to ensure security of their systems and prevent fraudulent use. Thus, the third parties often require that the users change their passwords after a predetermined period of time or a predetermined number of accesses to the system. Most users have several external systems, and many users have as many as a hundred of third-party systems that are accessed on a regular basis. Therefore, it is often difficult for users to remember the myriad of user name and password combinations that are required to access such third-party systems and.
Additionally, many of the third-party systems are providing highly confidential information that is received by the end stored on the user's individual computer systems. These data files often contain sensitive information such as bank account records, tax returns, credit card information, and investment information. Furthermore, other personal information is also stored on such computer systems. Such personal information can be used for identity theft in the event that information falls into the wrong hands. While there are file encryption systems and mechanisms in the prior art, these systems are often difficult to use because they require that the user specify which files are encrypted, provide a password, and such administrative overhead in securing sensitive information stored on the hard drive of a personal computer makes the use of such systems rare.
Thus there is a need for a system and method that secures computing systems automatically and in a nonintrusive way.